Sliding multiple door assembly and interior cabinet



Sept. 19, 1961 H. J. BENNETT SLIDING MULTIPLE DOOR ASSEMBLY AND INTERIOR CABINET Filed Jan. le, 195s 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept' 19, 1961 H. .1. BENNETT 3,000,437

SLIDING MULTIPLE DOOR ASSEMBLY AND INTERIOR CABINET Filed Jan. 16, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,000,437 'SLIDING MULTIPLE DOOR ASSEMBLY AND INTERIOR CABINET Howard J. Bennett, Morris Park, Lake Wanbesa, McFarland, Wis. Filed Jan. 16, 19,56, Ser. No. 559,161 Claims. (Cl. 160-33) This invention relates to 'a door and sash assembly for interior cabinets and to such cabinets having the door and sash assembly permanently assembled therein.

Modular sized interior cabinets have long been in use for kitchens and are increasingly offered for other parts of the house. The vast majority of these cabinets have doors swinging on vertical hinges, although in almost all situations a door providing access to the cabinet which did not swing into the room would be preferable. Horizontally slideable doors are now offered in modular cabinets for clothes closets, one door sliding in front or behind an adjacent door to provide access to the closet.

The use of horizontally slideable doors in smaller cabinets is limited because one door must slide over the other, and there is a denite limit on the modular width. Thus, the average cabinet has a width of either 15 or 3() inches, and the number of 15-inch cabinets that are used in a kitchen is surprisingly high. The lS-inch cabinet does not admit the use of a slideable door, and if one wishes all of the doors to be uniform, which is necessary in a nice kitchen, one cannot combine sliding doors with swinging doors. Also, sliding doors do not present a smooth front, because each door must slide behind or in front of another door.

yOne object of this invention is to provide a kitchen cabinet unit which can be of the same modular size as those units presently in use and which has a door opening to accommodate a door made of horizontal panels which may be disposed compactly in a magazine at the -top of the cabinet. The door of the cabinet disclosed herein can be functioned when the cabinet is on its side or upside down, but the practical position is the position shown in the drawings because this places the magazine at the top of the cabinet adjacent to the ceiling where space is least valuable.

It may be preferable, however, for cabinets mounted on the oor and extending only upto sink level to position the magazines adjacent to the floor, or one side, where they will cause a minimum of interference. Also, by placing the magazine at one side of a cabinet mounted on Vthe lloor and sliding the door horizontally, the handle may be placed more accessibly.

A second object of this invention is to provide a multiple panel door in which the lower edge of each panel rests on the upper edge of the next lower panel. This provides a very desirable appearance because the door appears to be a single panel having horizontal Ygrooves in it, or additionally, vertical false grooves may be added to complete the illusion.V

Another object of this invention is to eliminate Working parts. The real reason for the survival of the Vhinged door is its infallibility and great life. The wheels on which sliding doors function jam in the track. Articulated doors tend to jam, rust or squeak. A feature of this invention is the provision of elongated panels which form a door which may be lowered into full closed or partial closed position or returned to the magazine with a. minimum of operating parts. The operating parts consist of two tapes and two spring-operated members. 'There are no wheels.

Theinvention will be more fully understood, together -with additional advantages thereof and applications therefor, from a further reading of this disclosure, particularly when viewed in the light of the drawings, in which:

FIGURE l is an isometric view of a cabinet provided with a sliding door constructed according to the teachings of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view of a door unit comprising a magazine, slides, and track assembly which may be permanently incorporated in the cabinet shown in FIGURE l or separately associated with shelving built at the point of use;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional View taken along the line 3 3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a plan View of the magazine illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary isometric view of the end portion of one of the panels illustrating the mechanism by which the panel is secured to a exible tape;

FIGURE 7 is an isometric View of the bracket used to secure the flexible tape to the slides; and,

FIGURE 8 is an elevational view, partly broken away and in section of a cabinet which constitutes another embodiment of the invention.

As illustrated in the gures, the sliding door consists essentially of two parts, a magazine 10 and a track assembly 12 secured to the magazine 10. The magazine 10 has a supporting frame 14 which includes a front plate 16, a rear support member 18 which is disposed parallel to the front plate 16, and a pair of parallel side members 20 and 22 which are secured to-the front plate 16 and rear member 18. The track assembly 12 extends away from the iront plate 16 generally parallel thereto, although the track assembly 12 need not be constructed integrally with the magazine 10. In actual practice, it is sometimes more convenient to construct the track assembly 12 into a cabinet, and to merely place a unit including the magazine and the panels which form the sliding door adjacent to the track assembly 12.

=Each of the side members 20 and 22 of the magazine 10 are provided with lower slides 24 and 26, respectively, which confront each other and extend inwardly from the side members 20 and 22. In addition, upper slides 28 and 30 are secured fto the side members 20 and 22, respectively. A plurality of panels 32 are disposed between the lower slides 24 and 26 and the upper slides 28 and 30. When disposed in the magazine 10, the panels 32 have generally rectangular cross sections and are disposed in parallel abutting relationship at a small angle with the front plate 16 of the magazine 10, as shown in FIGURE 2. The ends 34 and 36 of each panel 32 are disposed adjacent to the side members 20' and 22, respectively, the distance between the ends 34 and 36 of the panels 32 being referred to as the length of the panels. In like manner, the horizontal edges 38 and 40 of the panels 3G disposed within the magazine 10 are disposed adjacent to the upper slides 2.8 and 30 and lower slides 24 and 26, respectively, the distance between the edges being called the breadth of the panels. The third dimension of the panels is referred to as the thickness of the panels. The horizontal edges of each panel are flat surfaces normal to the face of the panel and when the panels are in the Vertical guideway, these flat surfaces are in contact with each other and there is no tendency toward lateral displacement, so that by raising the lowermost panel, all of the panels move vertically without any tendency to jam against the sides of the upright channels constituting the guideway. The edge 38 of each panel 32 is provided with a beveled surface 42 confronting the rear support member 1'8 when the panels 32 are in the magazine 10, this beveled surface 42 being disposed at an angle of approximately 60 degrees with the adjacent edges 38 of the panels corner edge helps protect the outer face of the next upper panel from being damaged as a panel moves up over the cam surface 62 to be pressed into the magazine. i A pair of pressure arms 44 and 46 are pivotally mounted at one end to the rear support member 1-8 of the frame 14 adjacent to the side members 20 and 22 by pins 47. Each of the arms 44 and 46 is provided With an outwardly extending ridge 48 and 49, respectively, which is disposed at a small angle with the front plate 16 of the frame 14, and a pad 50 is disposed about the ridges 48 and 49. The pads 50 abut the iirst panel, designated 32A, to enter the magazine and place a spring bias upon the panels 32 in the direction of the front plate 16 of the magazine 10.V A pair of springs 52 and S3 are secured to the front plate 16 at one end and to the arms 44 and 46 at the other end to provide a spring bias on the panels 32 in the direction of the front plate 16. The ridges 48 and 49 are disposed at an angle relative to the front plate 16, the portion of each ridge 48 and 49 adjacent to the upper slides 28 and 30 being closer to the front plate 16 than the portion of the ridges 48 and 49 adjacent to the lower slides 24 and 26 in order to dispose the panels 32 within the magazine 10 at a small angle relative to the front plate 16.

A pair of deilecting members 54 and 56 are attached to the front plate 16 between the lower slides 24 and 26 and the upper slides 2-8 and 30, respectively. The deflecting members 54 and 56 have two essentially at surfaces 58 and 60 which confront the panels 3-2 disposed within the magazine 10. The longer of the two surfaces `58 is disposed from a junction line 62 approximately twothirds of the distance below the upper slides 28 and 30 to the lower slides 24 and 26 and is approximately parallel with the ridges 48 and 49 of the pressure arms 44 and 46. This surface 58 is disposed at an angle relative to the front plate 16 which is determined by the breadth and thickness of the panels 32, since the distance between the intersecting line 62 of the surfaces 58 and 60 and the adjacent surface of the front plate 16 must be at least equal to the thickness of the panels 32, as will be more fully explained hereinafter. The surface 60 extends from the line -of intersection 62 to the front plate 16, and forms an angle with the front plate of no more than 45 degrees, since the panels 32 will not pass freely from the tracks 12 into the magazine 10 if this angle is greater than 45 degrees.

The lower slides 24 and 26 extend to curved surfaces 64 which confront the surfaces 60 of the deecting members 54 and 56 and are spaced therefrom by a minimum distance at least equal to twice the thickness of the panels 32. Essentially ilat surfaces 66 of the lower slides 24 and 26 connect with the curved surfaces 64 and confront the tracks 12. The panels 32 enter the magazine 10 through the gaps between the surfaces 64 and 66 and the deflecting -members 54 and 56.

The track assembly 12 has two legs 68 and 70 and a cross member 72 secured between the two legs 68 and 70 to form a generally rectangular aperture with the face plate 16 of the magam'ne 10. Each of the legs 68 and 70 and the cross member 72 have face strips 74 which are disposed flush with the face plate 16 of the magazine and have the same thickness approximately as the face plate 16 of the magazine. In addition, the legs 68 and 70 and the cross member 72 have a spacer strip 76 which is slightly thicker than the panels 32. The spacer strips are narrower than the face strips 74 and are set in from the inner edge of the face strips 74, the spacer strips 76 of the legs 68 and 70 being aligned with the side members and 22 of the magazine and spaced from each other by a distance slightly greater than the length of the panels 32. In addition, the legs 68 and 70 and cross member 72 are provided with back strips 7'8 which are secured to the spacer strips 76 and extend beyond the 4 inner edge of the spacer strips to confront the face strips 74, thus providing the legs 68 and 70 and cross member 72 with a groove 79 in which the panels 32 are slideably disposed. It is to be understood, that the track assembly 12 may be constructed in any manner desired to provide this groove 79 for the ends -of the panels, and that the thickness of the groove is determined by the thickness of the ends of the panels, rather than any other portions thereof.

While the face strips 74 of the legs 68 and 70 abut the face plate 16 of the magazine, the back strips 78 of the legs `68 and 70 terminate at -a point approximately equal in distance to the breadth of the panels 32 from the surface of the lower slides 24 and 26 upon which the panels 32 rest. The ila-t surfaces 66 of the lower slides 24 and 26 extend to these ends of the back strips 7 8 to guide the panels 32 into and out ofthe grooves 79. A pair of spring-biasing means 80 are disposed in the lower slides 24 and 26 confronting the surface 60 of the detiecting members 54 and 56 and the face strips 74 of the legs 68 and 70 to spring bias any panel adjacent thereto toward these surfaces. These spring-biasing means 8) each have an arm 82 disposed within a slot 86 in surfaces 64 and 66 of the lower slides 24 and 26. Arms 82 are disposed in the slots 86 and pivotally mounted at one end to the lower slides 24 and 26 adjacent to the backY strips 78 of the legs 68 and 70 by pins 87. Springs 90 are mounted between the other end of the arms 82 and the lower slides 424 and 26, the springs are disposed under compression to place a spring bias on the arms 82 in the direction of the face strips 74 of the track assembly 12. As a result, any panel disposed adjacent to the spring-biasing means 80 will be biased against the face strips 74 of the legs 68 and 70, and When the panel thus disposed is translated toward the magazine 10, this panel will be free to tilt away from the face strips 74 to ride easily upon the deecting members 54 and 56 in the magazine 10.

It is also to be noted that the intersecting lines 62 between the surfaces 58 and 60 of the deflecting members 54 and 56 are disposed well within the magazine so that a panel 32 entering the magazine is able to slide between the deecting members 54 and 56 and the panel abutting the deecting member, `designated 32a, within the magazine 10. The beveled edge v42 of the panel entering the magazine facilitates sliding this entering panel into the magazine 10. As a result, the entering panel will wedge the abutting panel 32a from the deecting member 54, and will permit the entering panel -to assume this position abutting the deecting member 54. It is also to be noted that the space between the front plate 16 of the magazine '10 and the adjacent panel 32a within the magazine is not suicient to permit -an entering panel to slide into the magazine without contacting the panel within the magazine with its leading edge 40. As a result, there is a thrust upon the panel 32a abutting the deflecting member 54 from the panel entering into the magazine 10, and this thrust is in the direction which the panel 32a abutting the deflection member must travel to move further into the magazine 10. As la result, there is no possibility of this panel 32a abutting the deecting member 5'4 sliding into the opening through which the panels enter the magazine and causing the magazine to jam when a new panel attempts to enter the magazine.

Each of the panels 32 is provided with a tape-fastening member 92 at each end. The tape-fastening member 92 is formed yfrom sheet metal, and has a slot 94 formed by -two right angle bends 96 and 98, the slot 94 contain ing one of the ends of a panel 32 in lsecure engagement. The member 92 is 'also provided with a pair of confronting fingers 100 and 102 which form a slot on the opposite side of the member parallel to the iirst slot. A pair of tapes 104 and 106 are secured between the lingers 100 and 102 of each fastening member 92, the tapes being taut when the panels 32 are all disposed Within the track assembly 12, none of the panels being disposed within the magazine 10. The tapes 104 and 106 are secured to the fastening member by bending the fingers 100 and 102 over `against the tapes, and driving a pointed punch into the fastening member 94 from both directions thus providing ya projection 107 which extends into 'the tapes 104 and 106. It is to be noted, that the nger portion of the fastening member` 92 is disposed adjacent to the edge 38 of the panels, but not confronting the face of the panel 32, thereby exposing both sides of the linger portion of the member 92 for the tape-fastening operation.

A handle 108 is secured to the last panel to be inserted into the magazine 10, .the handle 108 abutting the face plate 16 of the magazine and preventing this panel, designated 3212, from enteringncompletely into the magazine. In addition, the fastening member for this panel 32h, designated 110, does not have the finger construction of the fastening member 92. The fastening member 110 is, however, provided with a slot 112 identical with the slot formed by thenbends 9 6 andv98 in the member 92, but a second slot 114 normal to the first slot is disposed in the member 110, the second slot, being disposed adjacent to the edge 40 of the panel 32b. The end of the tapes 104 and 106 are secured within these'slots 114, and pins 116 extend through the slots 114 and the tapes to secure these ends of the tapes.

Assuming the tapes have been assembled in ya taut position with the panels 32 disposed within the track assembly 12, the panels 32 may then be placed within the magazine 10 by moving the handle 108 toward the face plate 16 of the magazine. This operation causes the panels to move into the magazine solely due to the force exerted by the horizontal at surface of the edges 38 of each of the panels 32 upon the horizontal dat surface of the edges 40 of the panel adjacent thereto. Further, the tapes 104 and 106 form loops 118 which are disposed between the lower slides 24 and 26 of the magazine in an out-of-theway position. It is to be noted that the tapes are not necessary to return the panels from the track assembly 12 into the magazine 10 since this operation occurs solely as a result of the abutting relationship of the panels 32. However, when the panels are to be removed from the magazine 10, tension is placed upon the tapes 104 and 106 and the tapes pull each of the panels successively from the position abutting the deflection members 54 and 56 into the track assembly 12. It is thus clearthat the tapes have two functions only, one to withdraw the panels from the magazine 10, and the other to prevent the panels from sliding down the track assembly 12 when it is vertically disposed and the door is only partially closed.

It is, of course, desirable that operation of the sliding door create as little noise as possible. In opening the door, the principal source of noise occurs as a result of the edge 38 of the panel about to enter the magazine 10 rubbing against the edge 40 of the panel 32a within the magazine. During this operation, the panel 32a pivots on the lines of intersection 62 of the deecting members 54 and 56 causing the edge 40 of the panel 32a to move normal to the direction of the panel entering the magazine 10, thus creating a scraping sound. The noise arising from this source is minimized by placing a layer 120 of felt, or some other soft material, on the edge 40 of each panel 32. Some slight additional noise is produced by the fastening member 92 of the panel entering the magazine 10 sliding against the fastening member 92 of the panel 32a in the magazine after the panel 32a has pivoted. This noise can be minimized by placing a strip 122 of felt, or some other soft material, on the surface of the fastening members 92 confronting the back strips 78 of the track assembly 12.

The principal source of noise when the panels 32 are being removed from the magazine 10 is from the panels striking the deflecting members 54 and 56 as the preceding panel 32 is removed from the magazine. This source of noise may be minimized by providing a strip 124 of sound-absorbing material, such as felt, on the surfaces 58 6 of the'deecting members 54 and 56. In addition, felt liners 126 are provided on the surface of the upper slides 28 and 30 confronting the panels 32 Within the magazine 10 to further reduce noise resulting from panels striking these surfaces when entering the magazine 10.

[FIGURE 8 illustnates a plurality of sliding doors constructed according to the present invention installed to provide a closure yfor 'a single opening. From an interior decorating point of view, it may be desirable to eliminate the face strip 74 between adjacent sliding doors, and the elimination of the Vface strip 74 also provides additional access'lto the interior of the cabinet. Further, a plurality of3relatively small doors may be more convenient than a single door," and may befc'onstructed in identical form for doors of differentv sizes as long asV the vdoor size is multiple of the sizeof-the single unit. v

In this embodiment, `the cabinet is provided with live Walls referred to in FIGURE 8 as upper wall 130, lower wall 132,Y side walls 1-34 and 136, and back 138. The cabinet may be of any width and, its front will be closed by several vertically sliding doors, eaoh associated with -a maga- 2.11162.Y Y A.

' In FIGURE 8, applicant illustrates la horizontal section through the middle of such a cabinet. Two vertical sliding `door panels are illustrated, and at the level selected they bear numerals and 141. At the vertical line when the sliding doors abut, applicant positions a metallic ilat strip which is fastened to the bottom 132 by a ange 162 and is fastened to the under side of the top 130 or possibly to a top facing board such as 16 in FIG- URES 1 and 2. Each of the transverse panels such as 140 has brackets such as 143 mounted on its inside surf-ace with its free end adapted to hold the strip 160 between itself and the inside wall of the panel. Tap 164 are fastened to these brackets. At the vertical ends of the cabinet, the brackets, such las 142, will slide on an angle iron 154. Applicant has not shown the modification of the upper end of the strip 160 or angle iron 154 in order to permit the panels to slide into a magazine located as is 14 in FIGURE l. The embodiment in FIGURE 8 is first for the purpose of showing that the vertical guideways for the panels need not be facing channels or grooves such as 79 in FIGURE 5. Secondly, and from a visual standpoint importantly, the vertical framing members, i.e., 74 in FIGURE 1, can be eliminated.

The invention, therefore, consists of a magazine containing flat panels with an opening at one kside with a guideway, the grooved legs 68 and 70 or langles 154 are together sometimes referred to as a guideway, extending away from the magazine with slides on each panel for slideably interlocking with the guideway. The panels have a thickness such that the edge of each upper panel can rest upon the edge of each panel therebelow .to provide a smooth front. In combination with a parallelepiped cabinet, the magazine located in the forward upper portion of the cabinet is concealed by -an upper front fixed panel having a height which is not excessive from an artistic standpoint and which leaves the major portion of the upper shelf of full height. This is particularly useful where the cabinet is positioned adjacent the ceiling.

. Both of the embodiments of the invention described in this disclosure are specific and do not in any manner define the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, intended that the scope of the present invention be not limited by the foregoing disclosure, but rather only by the appended claims.

Having thus described Ihis invention, applicant claims:

l. A sliding door assembly comprising a magazine, a downwardly directed opening at one end of said magazine, a plurality of like size, rectangular, flat panels movably disposed in face-to-face relationship within the magazine so that they may be moved sequentially through said opening, a guideway extending downwardly away from said opening and holding said panels in edgewise relationship, means exibly joining the panels to each other so that they may be stacked in the magazine and sequentially withdrawn into said guideway, flat surfaces on the top and bottom edges of each panel normal to the plane of the surface'of the panel, said surfaces contacting each other when the panels are positioned in the guideway and providing no` tendency toward lateral displacement, and means adjacent the opening of the magazine for succes.-4 sively moving out of engagement the contacting flat surfaces of adjacent panels and forcing each panel into the magazine when the lowermost panel is raised.

2. The sliding ydoor assembly of claim 1 wherein the guideway consists of two facing channels spaced by the length of the panels and having a width slightly exceeding the thickness of the panels.

3. The sliding door assembly of claim l wherein the flexible means consists of two tapes each fastened at opposite ends of all panels, the length of the tape between points of joinder on two adjacent panels being slightly greater than the breadth of the panels so that when a guideway is in a vertical position the panels will be supported on the contacting flat surfaces between them.

4. The sliding door assembly of claim 1 wherein a bracket is mounted on the inner lower edge at each end ofthe panels, said bracket having a pair of fingers spaced by one dimension of the flexible means and being bendable to clasp the flexible means.

5. The sliding door assembly of claim 2 wherein the means for returning the panels to thefmagazine consists of a member having a cam surface extending from the top of eac-h channel rtoward the magazine whereby moving -a panel against this surface pushes it toward the magazine and out of alignment with the two channels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,573,665 Wigginton Feb. v16, 1926 1,886,105 lullin Nov. 1, V1,972 2,094,940 Burdo Oct.V 5, 1937 2,121,106 Stevens fn-Iune 21, 1938 2,672,192 Goldner Mar. 16, 1954 2,729,287 Goldner Jan. 3, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 712,652 Germany -.f 0015. 23, 1941 

